


Transylvania Is Not England (Or So They Say)

by Ayearandaday



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: A mansion in the middle of Transylvania, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Badass Rey, Ben "I don't know why this woman threatens me but she's pretty so it's fine" Solo, Disappearance, F/M, Finn has a blog, Finn is a nerd, Finn is so dead, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn, Mystery, Of a sorts, Pacify your feral gremlins with food, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey can't decide if she's angry or horny, She knows whom to blame, Shy Ben Solo, Soft Ben Solo, The mysterious Count won't know what hit him, Unreliable Narrator, You'll know why, because Finn disappeared, he doesn't drink... wine, he left hints, inspired by Jonathan Harker's diaries, it's a small world, maybe both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayearandaday/pseuds/Ayearandaday
Summary: After her brother's disappearance during a work trip to Transylvania Rey discovers startling clues in his blog and embarks on a journey to find out how exactly the mysterious Count is involved in the matter. It doesn't go as expected.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Transylvania Is Not England (Or So They Say)

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my amazing beta fulcrum_of_pemberley!

Finn hugs his sister closer. 

"Don't worry, Peanut, it's just a little work trip. Nothing unusual."

She frowns. "I still don't like it. It’s a freaking  _ castle _ in the middle of nowhere.... What if something happens?"

He laughs at her concerned expression. "Transylvania is full of vampires only in Hollywood movies."

She pouts. "Don't be silly, that's not what I meant."

"Look, that's my flight. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

His sister sighs and hugs him again. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Finn chooses to ignore his own little flicker of foreboding.

_ When my boss said the house was ‘near’ Bistrița, she grossly underestimated the distance. The house is on the outskirts of a tiny town called D*** a fair distance away from Bistrița city. Then again, she might have meant the river.  _

_ People there are nothing like I'm used to. They don't like strangers, or foreigners, or those who ask many questions, or anyone, really. The taxi driver, in broken English, refused to go anywhere near my destination in the dark and dropped me quite far from the gates. Luckily for me, the moon was almost full... _ .

Finn drags his suitcase along, his focus on the grand building in front of him. The high gates seem to be locked, yet he can't shake the feeling of being watched. Odd.

_ The count is nothing like I've imagined. He's tall, impressively so. His hair is dark and long and his face... It looks like a mish-mash of random features: a regal nose, deep-set dark eyes, lush mouth, that somehow work together. I can't decide whether he's hideous or beautiful. Maybe both. Intense, definitely. I wouldn't want to get on his bad side. _

"I hope everything is to your liking."

Finn nods gratefully. "Yes, the food smells amazing. Honestly, I'm starving."

His host nods stiffly. "Wine?"

"Just a bit. None for you?" Finn frowns.

"I don't drink... wine."

Odd. The phrase sounds familiar.

_ The house is huge; I'm not sure even the count knows how big it is. Oddly, the only caretaker I see is a diminutive, silent woman in huge glasses. She's everywhere at once, cooking, cleaning, keeping an eye on me. At least I hope it's her. Who else would be following me around? _

"What did I tell you to do?!" Phasma yells in his ear.

Finn winces. "Look, I'm trying my best..."

"I don't care! You have your instructions, follow them!"

"I..." But she has already ended the call. 

A sudden movement behind him makes Finn turn around abruptly. The hall is empty. Odd. Draughts? 

_ The more I stay in this house, the weirder it seems. It's full of unusual noises and shadows that move on their own. Someone stuffed it with antiquities, yet it's barely lived in. It's only three of us, which makes no sense. Whose presence is always there, on the edge of my perception? I've never believed in ghosts, but now....  _

_ There's no internet here and barely any reception. No landline or TV. No neighbors, yet the doors are always locked. To keep someone out or to keep someone in? _

  
  
  


Rey's hands shake. After two weeks of few and far between calls, her brother disappeared. She has been trying hard not to get worried, considering how busy he always is, but after seeing this…. She’s not superstitious by any means, but something is terribly, terribly wrong.

It’s no secret that Rey hates the First Order, the auction house Finn works for. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers,’ he always responds, referring to his basically useless double major in history and art history. It was either that or McDonald’s and the First Order pays better anyway. Too bad that it comes at the price of irregular working hours and perpetual work trips.

Finn has a good eye for detail, a head full of obscure knowledge, and an easy attitude. His boss Phasma uses him as her go-to employee to do cataloguing, inventory, or preliminary estimation for the prickliest clients. Rey thinks he’s not paid enough. Finn thinks that as long as he can take detours on the company dime for his travel blog, he’s all good. That’s what is so different between them. He’s an adventurer at heart; she thinks better to be safe than sorry. Rey is always the responsible adult, who predicts all the bad outcomes beforehand. And that’s why she’s so, so scared.

The First Order hasn’t sent her brother out for such a long time before, and never abroad. Rural Romania, the middle of nowhere, and with what Finn wrote about the owner all painted a disturbing picture. And not only isn’t he answering his phone, the things he posted on his blog.…

Rey knows her brother, her only family, well. He’s not easily spooked. He doesn’t believe in the supernatural. He’s always cheerful. The weird posts with creepy pictures are so out of character. She takes it for what it is – a cry for help.

The First Order is hardly useful. An angry Phasma snarls into the phone how she doesn’t want to even see Finn for the next two weeks till the end of his trip and ends the call. HR barely agrees to give her the address. No one takes her concerns seriously, not that Rey is surprised.

She talks to her professors, who are very understanding. Her boss Han gladly gives her her first vacation in years. Rey books a plane and a train, packs her bag, prints the map, and hopes for the best.

The town Finn talked about is indeed small and remote, albeit not as creepy as she imagined. Just to be on the safe side, Rey buys a large wooden rosary in the souvenir shop. She isn’t a Catholic, or anything for that matter, but the movies seem to agree it’s the answer to any problem. Better safe than sorry. Feeling the tiniest bit safer from the unknown evil she has to face, Rey takes a taxi to the castle. To what she  _ thought _ was a castle.

The building is large, true, but it hardly warrants the pompous name. Neither does it look as sinister as Finn’s posts implied. Rey feels herself oddly cheated. Surprisingly, the driver has no problem nearing the house and even offers to help with her bag (or so she thinks, Romanian isn’t among her skills). The moon isn’t high and the gates are neither rusty, nor noisy. Still, Rey feels deep in her bones that something is wrong with the place. Why would Finn disappear otherwise?

Clutching the rosary in one hand like a dagger, she uses the door knocker. The booming noise seems to go through the whole building and then, before she knows it, the door opens abruptly. Rey feels her breath knocked out of her. For  _ this  _ she’s completely unprepared. The man on the other side is  _ gorgeous _ . Tall, impressively so, and broad, with midnight black hair falling to his shoulders in gentle waves and his pale, almost translucent face.… Finn definitely forgot to mention that the man, the count, is  _ hot _ . He must be some supernatural being; who else could look like that? For a long, long moment Rey is lost in his warm honey brown eyes, until the man clears his throat and she suddenly remembers herself and what he might have done to her brother.

“Don't move,” Rey warns him, clutching her rosary tighter.

The count looks quite puzzled.

“Are you all right, miss?” he asks with concern.

Oddly, his accent is purely American. Since when did the Transylvanian undead speak American English? Rey tries her best not to stare at his pillowy soft lips. She doesn’t want to see fangs.

“Where's my brother?” she asks with a threat in her voice.

“Who?” the Count pretends to be confused.

“Finn Johnson, where is he?”

The flabbergasted expression on his face would be quite amusing if not for the dire situation.

“Certainly not here,” he responds.

Rey lifts her rosary threateningly. “Tell me!”

The Count looks between her and the rosary and blinks.

“Er, I think you're holding it upside down.”

Rey’s cheeks flush in mortification. She clutches the thing in a way comfortable for stabbing, but apparently it  _ doesn’t _ scare off supernatural creatures. She promptly turns the rosary the right way. 

“What did you do to him?” Rey presses on, ready to pounce. She’s not afraid of tall, dark, and sexy, er,  _ scary _ supernatural beings. Not at all. The count fidgets awkwardly.

“Would you like to come in?” he mumbles.

Whatever nocturnal ungodly creature he is, he seems to be rather shy, so she nods and tentatively steps in. Nothing happens.

“What’s your name?”

There’s no rule against telling her name to vampires, or she can’t remember one.

“Rey Johnson. Where's my brother?”

“Ben Solo.” The man shyly offers. The name is hardly Dracula-worthy, if she’s being honest. “I don't know. He left after I ended the contract with the First Order.”

Part of it seems plausible as it corresponds with what she heard from Phasma, but Finn would never just disappear without a word.

“I don't believe you,” Rey decides, waving her rosary belligerently. “He would have told me.”

The count seems appropriately scared.

“Miss, please. I mean you no harm.”

“Don’t even think of it,” she warns.

He, Ben, looks around helplessly, then hollers, “Maz!”

Rey expects nothing less than a three-headed dog, but she’s met with a tiny elderly woman in huge glasses. Must be the local Igor, she assumes.

“Oh my, you should have told me you’d have more guests,” the woman accuses the count in perfect, albeit accented, English.

Rey is shocked. Finn mentioned she didn’t talk at all.

“You speak English?” the girl askes confusedly.

Maz scoffs. “Of course I do. Someone had to read fairytales to this one, no?” She lovingly pats the count somewhere around his midriff.

He groans, clearly embarrassed. “Maz.”

How many years (centuries?) ago was that? They must have made a cute picture.

“I’m looking for my brother, Finn Johnson,” Rey tells the woman hopefully.

Maz smiles.

“He left a few days ago. Are you hungry, child? You look like you could use a hot meal.”

“I…” Her traitorous stomach rumbles loudly.

Maz nods to herself and grabs her hand.

“Come on.”

Rey doesn’t know how it happens, but she’s seated in the kitchen with a proper feast in front of her. Maz can’t be evil, she decides. Whoever can cook like that is a pure cinnamon roll.

“Finn, my brother,” Rey says between bites of something absolutely divine.

“Yes, child?”

“Why would he leave without telling anybody?”

Maz glances at her employee. “Benjamin?”

“His services were no longer needed here. I ended the contract with the First Order,” he explains again.

“Why?”

“Maybe because I found my family property already listed on their website without my consent?” Ben asks testily. “Mr. Johnson was supposed to give his professional opinion, not act behind my back.”

Deep down Rey has to agree that sounds just like the First Order.

“He was just following instructions,” she defends Finn weakly.

“Not  _ my _ instructions.”

Rey’s eyes flashed. “So what did you do to him?”

“Nothing,” the count sputters. “I called his boss, then fired him.”

“ _ So where is he _ ?”

“No idea. Have you tried calling him?”

Never in her life has Rey wanted to throttle somebody’s stupid pretty head this much.

“Are you kidding me? Of course I have tried. I’m going to the police department.”

Her hosts nod. “Of course.”

“Now.”

The count and Maz share a look.

“In the middle of the night? They’re closed.”

“It’s an emergency,” Rey growls.

“We don’t have emergencies here,” the count says seriously.

“You can stay the night. Benjamin will take you into town tomorrow,” Maz decides.

The room they give her is unfortunately devoid of secret passages or blood stains, but contains an exceptionally comfortable bed. Rey locks the door from inside just in case the count decides to ravish her in the middle of the night, although he doesn’t seem the ravishing type (and, if she’s honest with herself, she wouldn’t exactly mind. The full Transylvanian experience and all).

She gets up bright and early, bite-free and ready to find out what happened to Finn. Rey expects the house to be empty; she does  _ not  _ expect to see Benjamin in broad daylight, making  _ coffee _ of all things and looking weirdly human. Her late night fantasies seem rather stupid in the morning light.

“Good morning,” he asks cheerfully. “Have you slept well?”

“Yes, thank you,” she stammers, trying her best not to ogle him too much. The count serves her breakfast, completely oblivious to her attention and looking very bite-able if she says so herself.

“Maz gave me a grocery list, we can go to town when you’re ready.”

Now that’s the real talk. Having finished her food in record time, Rey follows her host to a surprisingly modern car.

“Do you want to see the market or the café first?” Benjamin asks her.

“I want to see the police department.”

“But it’s not even ten,” he responds with wide eyes. “They won’t be open, it’s Saturday.”

“Whatever,” Rey growls. What’s with these little remote towns? Do they even have working hours?

Benjamin decides that the best course of action is to leave her at the café with a copious amount of food (smart boy, er, count) while he’s doing groceries. Rey takes advantage of free wi-fi to check her mail and messages. Still nothing from Finn. Absentmindedly, she loads his travel blog and is suddenly met with a brand new blog post.

“What the fuck?” she mutters, staring at her  _ very alive _ brother’s smiling selfie.

_ After my abrupt departure from the castle of despair I decided it was time to indulge my wanderlust. And boy, am I happy I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have met Poe. Reader, I’m dating him. _

It’s followed with a photo of Finn kissing the cheek of a handsome Latino man, a long description of hikes, and more cute couply pictures. Rey’s blood boils. She’s sitting here, going insane from worry, and he does what?! Before she knows it, she’s pressing call. It unexpectedly goes through.

“Finn!”

“Peanut?” he responds confusedly. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s  _ wrong _ ?! You disappear for two weeks and ask me  _ what’s wrong _ ?! I thought something happened to you, you idiot!”

“What? No!” Finn protests loudly. “How could you think that?! Rey, I’m perfectly fine, I just took a bit of a vacation, I swear! The reception here is so shitty, I couldn’t call, so I messaged you.”

“ _ You did not _ ,” she enunciates coldly.

“I swear I did!” There is a bit of shuffling and a lot of swearing. “Shit, it’s undelivered. Why is it undelivered?! I’m so sorry, Peanut, please forgive me, I didn’t mean to scare you, promise, the internet here is very--”

“You’re fucking sorry?!” Rey screeches. “I went to Romania to find you! I attacked your client--”

“You  _ what _ ?” Finn gasps with horror. “What did you do to Ben? Is he alive? Peanut, why?!”

“I thought he did something to you! I was going to get the police involved! Your blog…”

“My…  _ blog _ ?” he sounds stunned. “Rey, my blog is just creative writing. I was bored, stuck in the middle of nowhere, I had to go to the damn town for wi-fi, and the only English book in there is the Bible! What else did I have to do?”

“I don’t know, hint that it was fictional?!”

There’s a prolonged pause.

“Look, our train is here. I’m so, so sorry I gave you a scare, I never meant to freak you out like that. Please don’t kill Ben. Or me. I’ll call you later, you  _ must  _ meet Poe.”

“Finn, you arse!”

The call ends. It takes everything in her not to throw her phone across the cafe. A throat gently clears next to her. Rey lifts teary eyes to see a sheepish looking Ben. Great, now the hottest guy she’s ever met he thinks she’s the biggest moron and weirdo to ever walk the earth.

“Is everything OK? I take it you found your brother,” he says tentatively.

She flushes from embarrassment.

“I think I owe you an apology.”

Ben smiles. “Hmm, I think I would accept an early apology lunch.”

“So how do you know my kid?” Han asks with a smirk.

Rey glances between her boyfriend and his parents, wondering how she didn’t see the resemblance before. Right, context is the key. Who knew that the Transylvanian Count is actually a Coruscant publisher helping his mother manage family assets?

“It’s a small world I guess,” she shrugs. “How come I didn’t know you had a son?” Or the fact that his wife is loaded? Or that they own multiple properties in Europe?

“Never came up,” her boss responds nonchalantly.

Ben rolls his eyes. “Of course.”

“And you,” Han points an accusing finger at him, “don’t try and steal my best mechanic.”

“Your  _ only  _ mechanic,” Rey quips.

“Semantics.”

Leia, bless her, decides it’s a good time to break the tension.

“Rey, darling, have you given any thought on what you want to do after graduation?”

“Um…”

“Because I know someone,  _ who’s not my husband, _ who’s looking for a young engineer just like you.”

“Leia,” Han gasps with a look of complete betrayal.

“It’s a nice job, with a nice salary, enough to settle down,” she continues, unperturbed.

Ben groans. “Mom!”

“Just saying. It’s never too early to start planning a family,” Leia winks conspiratorially.

“You’re scaring Rey!”

“I’m fine,” the girl laughs, enjoying the look of horror on Ben’s face. How she could have thought this dufus was a creature of the night she has no idea. “I’m not  _ that  _ easy to scare, you know?” Which might be a tad of wishful thinking, but hey, she’s working on it. Rey puts her hand on his knee, making him jerk with surprise. Poor dear is flustered so easily, she’ll never be over it. “I think I owe you to stick around for a while.”


End file.
